The Auto Interiors Revolution
The auto industry's revolution touches all aspects of the business, but none more than vehicle interiors and how they will change.
Gary S. Vasilash
Editor-in-Chief, Automotive Design & Production
GM Exits Australia, N. Zealand; Sells Thai Plant
Further focusing on a handful of fruitful markets for manufacturing
Adient Refocuses on Core Seating Business
Restructures joint ventures with Yanfeng, divests Recaro unit
GM Ready to Sell India Plant
General Motors is shutting down operations in India by selling its last plant there to Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motor.
MG Debuts Its First Electric SUV in India
MG Motor India’s first all-electric model, the locally produced ZS SUV/crossover, will debut in January.
Chinese Carmakers Eye Indian Market
Chinese vehicle manufacturers, who are facing slumping sales in their home market, are looking at India for potential growth.
VW, Partners to Spend $4.4 Billion in China
Volkswagen AG and its partners plan to invest more than $4.4 billion next year in China, 40% of it on e-mobility programs.
Another Sign of Electrification: Production Capacity
This is a picture of a diecasting setup taken on the inside of a new €35-million, 5,000 square-meter factory extension of a factory in Neckarsulm, Germany, a facility of KS HUAYU AluTech GmbH, a company that is a 50:50 joint venture of Rheinmetall Automotive KG of Germany and HUAYU Automotive Systems, a member of China’s SAIC Group.
Gary S. Vasilash
Editor-in-Chief, Automotive Design & Production
SAIC Hopes to Triple Foreign Sales by 2025
SAIC Motor Corp. targets overseas sales of 1 million cars and commercial vehicles by 2025 compared with 350,000 units this year.
VW, SAIC Begin EV Pilot Production in China
Volkswagen AG and partner SAIC Motor Corp. have begun pilot production of electric vehicles at their new $2.5 billion factory in Shanghai.
VW Amps Up Electrification Efforts in China
Volkswagen AG’s namesake brand expects to sell 300,000 electrified vehicles in China next year and top 1 million such models there by 2025.
ABB Acquires Chinese EV Charging Specialist
Swiss engineering and robotics giant ABB Group has agreed to purchase 67% of Chargedot New Energy Technology Co., which supplies charging systems for electric vehicles.
Magna Launches Electric Drive Factory in China
Magna International Inc. has opened a factory in Shanghai to make integrated electric drive systems for Volkswagen AG vehicles built in China and Europe.
SAIC Opens Export-Focused Factory in China
SAIC Motor Corp. has launched production at its fourth assembly plant—a facility in Ningde, China—with capacity to make 240,000 vehicles per year.
Tech Watch: Dec. 2018
Scott Anderson
Contributing Editor
Shanghai Okays Passengers in Robotic Cars
Shanghai has given three companies permission to carry passengers in their self-driving cars, says the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Chevy Readies China-Market EV
General Motors Co. plans to introduce an all-electric crossover vehicle based on the Chevrolt Bolt platform later this year in China.
SAIC Begins Construction of Huge Data Center
Shanghai-based SAIC Motor Corp. has begun construction of a large cloud computing and “big-data” center in Zhengzhou, China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reports.
MG Brand Debuts Pickup Truck in Thailand
SAIC Motor Corp. has launched a pickup truck in Thailand under its British MG brand.
Half of VW's China Sales Will be Electrified by 2035
Half the cars Volkswagen AG sells in China will be electrified by 2035, says CEO Herbert Diess.
SAIC to Assemble MG-Brand Cars in Egypt
China’s SAIC Motor Corp. plans to both import and locally assemble MG-brand cars in Egypt.
Volkswagen in China
There are 12,156 parking spaces at the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom in Florida, according to the wdwmagic.com website, which means that were you to park all of the Volkswagen vehicles that were sold in China in 1985 you would have 10,156 empty parking spaces.
Gary S. Vasilash
Editor-in-Chief, Automotive Design & Production
SAIC’s Sales Plunge 16% in China
China’s SIAC Motor Corp. reports its retail sales shrank 16% to 480,900 units last month.
U.S. Denies GM Tariff Waiver on Buicks from China
General Motors Co. has been denied an exemption from the Trump administration’s 25% import tariff on Buick Envision small crossover vehicles imported from China.
GM’s Entry-Level Baojun Brand in China Expands Upmarket
General Motors and partners SAIC and Guangxi Automobile are expanding their entry-level Baojun brand in China upmarket with fancier models, a revamped logo and updated dealer showrooms.
VW May Buy Large Stake in Chinese EV Partner
Volkswagen AG is mulling a plan to buy a major stake in Chinese electric-car maker Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group, sources tell Bloomberg News.
SAIC Tests Autonomous Shuttle in California
China’s Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corp. is testing an automated, all-electric shuttle bus in Davis, Calif., in conjunction with the University of California-Davis.
SAIC Miffed at VW Comment About JV
SAIC Motor Corp. has taken offense that Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess told reporters that VW might raise its 50% stake in the venture launched by the two carmakers 34 years ago.
